Studied differences in the print environment offered children in 20 first-grade classrooms of very low or very high socioeconomic status. Site visits show substantial differences between the two groups, with lower amount, type, and uses of print in the lower socioeconomic status classrooms. Meaningful differences in literacy instruction were…

Analyzes a 1986 national survey (n=2,081) to examine differences in psychological and economic distress between remarried and divorced persons, and if economic distress differences explain differences in psychological distress between married and divorced persons. Findings show that remarried persons have significantly lower rates of economic and…

Compares 1960s and 1970s research findings positing a strong academic-achievement/socioeconomic-status correlation with 1980s school-effectiveness research and recent studies advocating whole language, cooperative learning, and multiage grouping. Since there's research to support numerous practices and beliefs, educators must resist fads, quick…

Focuses on the specific nature of the class structure in a peripheral economy in Wales and the role of language in the creation of class fractions. (29 references) (Author/CK)

This essay suggests that gifted education is a strategy for singling out the children of the affluent for training in leadership and dominance, rather than focusing on advanced academic preparation. Gifted education is seen as being organized around the personal and social traits associated with the gifted themselves rather than academic rigor.…

Summarizes global findings from surveys of literacy levels around the world and makes the case for the sociopolitical bases for access to valued reading and writing practices. Drawing on recent Australian research, it focuses on difficulties in current provisions for reading education in institutionalized adult literacy programs. (seven…

Investigated whether the combination of race, class, and gender resulted in extreme expectancy confirmation when applied to black, lower class, male children. Results from studying elementary school children show the areas of race, social class, and gender do have an effect on how one is academically evaluated, with race having the most consistent…

Examines the bachelor's degrees that would appear to have the highest financial payoffs for black graduates. Average annual earnings of black and white bachelor's degree holders are compared, and which degrees offer blacks good prospects for advancement are listed. (GR)

Notes that the potential of education to be a source of upward mobility is decreasing in the very communities where it is needed most, due to lack of resources and lower expectations for schools in poor neighborhoods. Details Republican and Democrat education plans. Notes that vouchers for private schools will only exacerbate the problem by…

In "The Bell Curve," Herrnstein and Murray contend that intelligence has become increasingly important in social stratification, as society places a growing premium on cognitive skills. In contrast, analysis of interstate variation in the link between IQ and income shows that the link is stronger in states that use IQ-like examinations…

Examines the rhetoric of family literacy focusing on restricted programs (family literacy programs that combine adult basic education for parents and early literacy) in relation to five issues: (1) the usage of the term family literacy; (2) targeting restricted programs to selected families; (3) program accessibility; (4) educational effects; and…

Special education teachers (n=350) completed the Expanded Teacher Efficacy Scale and the Educational Placement Vignette (which differed regarding the child's socioeconomic status and ethnicity). Results suggest that teacher responses concerning classroom management/discipline and external influences as well as a child's socioeconomic status and…

Analysis of Florida data (n=159,129) found that new born infants with any of four risk factors for low socioeconomic status (SES) were 1.2 to 3.4 times more likely than others to have a learning disability placement by age 12 to 14. Proportion of placements attributable to low SES was 30 percent among boys and 39 percent among girls. (Contains…

Reports on how a struggling first-grade reader who was neglected and ignored by his peers experienced literacy events when children were the only participants. Notes that collaborative learning is affected by participants' social status. Shows how child-initiated and child-directed literacy events did little to assist this child's reading…

A statistical analysis tested the relationship of class size, expenditures per student, and socioeconomic status on student achievement test scores in three south Florida counties. Poverty is a primary determinant of student achievement. There is modest support for targeted expenditures for smaller classes above 20 students. (Contains 62…